70cl / 46% / Distillery Bottling – Along with Importanticus Fumosus and Aromaticus Fumosus, this was part of a series of peated Benriachs finished in different wood types – in this case, Pedro Ximinez sherry casks have been used..

100cl / 42.8% / Distillery Bottling – The 1824 Collection is a range of Macallans released for the travel retail market. The Select Oak edition is a complex combination of first-fill European oak casks seasoned with oloroso sherry, and American oak casks seasoned with either oloroso sherry or bourbon..

70cl / 46.3% / Distillery Bottling – A relaunch in fancy packaging for Burn Stewart’s Deanston single malt. Trivia snitched from the Malt Whisky Yearbook: Deanston is the only distillery in Scotland that is self-sustaining for electricity, being equipped with a dam and a turbine..

Edradour 1997 / 13 Year Old / Moscatel Finish – Highland Single Malt Scotch WhiskyCountry: Scotland Region: HighlandAge: 13 Year Old Strength: 56.6%Vintage: 1997 Bottler: Summary: 50cl / 56.6% / Distillery Bottling – A full-strength single barrel 13 year old Edradour 1997 that has spent over 3 years in a Moscatel hogshead before bottling after nearly ten years in a normal cask. This second maturation should impart a grapey sweetness to the final result.

75cl / 57% / Sestante – Bottled at 100-proof (not sure if this was natural strength or not), this is an incredibly rare 1980s bottling of Mortlach 1973 by the huigely-respected Sestante importers for fellow Italians Carato..

Nose: Passion fruit and mango sorbet to the front of the nose is abruptly cut with vanilla and cigar smoke. This is very moreish and sat in the glass developing big tropical fruits, wood spice, dark rum and a sneaky bit of lobster in hot butter to the end.

Caol Ila was built in 1846 and is the largest of the eight working distilleries on of Islay (an island situated off the west coast of Scotland). Currently it has a production capacity of 3 million litres per year.
In the classic Islay style, Caol Ila is made predominantly with peated malt and the resulting phenols have a big influence on the final flavour of the whisky, as does the salty coastal air that the casks ‘breathe’ during maturation. It is one of the most approachable Islay malts.